What wonderful peaches the little girl's mum brought home
from the market! First she washed them carefully and put
them in a dish, and then she brought them into the room
where her daughter was lying in bed sick. The little girl
had a bad flu, and for three days she'd had a fever and
felt sick to her stomach.
The night before the doctor had taken a look at her and
gave her mother some advice: "Go to the market and get her
some peaches. They help fight off a sick stomach and are
very good for the digestion. They also have a lot of
vitamin C and pectins, which are important for fighting off
infections."
"Look how rosy they are!" the pale-faced little girl cried
delightedly, reaching for the dish.
"Yes, the peaches are really beautiful," her mum agreed and
offered her daughter the juiciest one. "That's why they
have such a delightful name."
The peach turned out to be good and sweet, and smelled even
better than usual.
"What a big pit it's got, like a little rock," the girl
said in surprise as she eyed the hefty, wrinkled-looking
stone. "I wonder what's inside?"
"Bitter seeds that smell like almonds," her mum answered,
happy that her daughter seemed to have got some life back
into her.
"Mum, if we plant the pit in a pot, will a peach tree grow
out of it?" the curious little one asked.
"I think it would, if we remember to take good care of it.
But," her mum admitted, "I've never tried growing a fruit
tree at home before."
The girl's mum had a lot of house plants. Thanks to her
wise care they had beautiful-smelling flowers the whole
year round.
"Mum, let's plant the peach pit! Please, mummy!" the little
girl said, thinking up everything she could to persuade
her. "Just imagine, we'll have our very own peaches growing
right at home. I promise I'll take care of it."
"Okay, dear, let's do it," her mum eventually agreed, and
she brought a spacious pot full of earth in from the
balcony.
A few days later, when her daughter was feeling better, the
big pot with the wonderful peach pit took up its place
beside her bed. For a long time the little girl watched the
dark earth that filled the pot almost to the brim, and
dreamed of the little peach tree that would grow from it.
"Oh, I wish it would hurry up!" she thought. "I'm just
dying to pick a peach from my own darling tree."
No sooner did she think that thought than a beautiful fairy
carrying a basket of peaches flew in and landed on the pot.
"I'm the mistress of a big peach orchard," she explained in
a cheery voice, "and I'm giving you this basket of my very
best peaches. You're a clever girl! Not just everyone tries
to grow a peach tree in their house, you know."
With a worried frown the girl asked, "What if my tree
doesn't grow?"
"I'll tap your pot with my magic peach twig," the fairy
assured her. "Then your tree will be sure to grow."
"Oh good fairy! I'd love to visit your big orchard, I've
never seen a peach tree before," the girl said a little
sadly.
"Well, now, that's not a problem. Just have one of my juicy
peaches to get yourself ready for the trip, and we're off!
Did you know that peaches are one of the best fruits for
you? They're just full of fructose sugar and organic
acids," the fairy explained, and she took a big rosy peach
from her basket.
"My mum says that peaches have a beautiful name," the girl
said as she munched noisily on the fairy's gift.
"You must have a wonderful mum," the fairy said with a
smile, and then she tapped the little girl with her magic
twig. Suddenly they were in the fairy's orchard.
"What a delicious smell!" the girl exclaimed as she looked
around in delight and breathed in the orchard's
peach-scented air. She set off down a narrow path that ran
beside the row of modest trees with wide-spreading branches
and reddish-brown, scaly bark. She ran her finger the
length of a long, green leaf to its pointed tip.
"Welcome, friend, we're glad you came to visit," the trees
greeted her in friendly tones, and waved their branches,
which were absolutely covered with great rosy peaches.
"Continue along this path and you'll come to our gardener's
house. He'll serve you up some peach tea with delicious
peach jam, and tell you anyting you'd care to ask."
Soon the girl saw a tidy little house with a kindly man
standing on the steps. He smiled and stepped aside to let
her pass.
"Please do come in, my dear, it's been ages since I've had
any visitors. And today I've baked a peach pie using the
fairy's own recipe, you're sure to love it."
Over the tea, delicious-smelling jam and flaky pie - which
absolutely melted in her mouth - the curious little girl
asked all about peaches and peach trees.
"When do peach trees bloom, and what colour are the
flowers?"
"The flowers are pinkish-coloured and usually come out even
earlier than the leaves, in March or April," the old
gardener answered. "Peach leaves and flowers are like
medicine - they relax you. I gather them every year, and
dry them."
"Why have some of your peaches lost their fuzz? They're
smooth."
"Those are nectarines - that's what we call fuzzless
peaches. The nectarine fairy has a great big tree farm in
China , our peach fairy gave her the pits to plant. The
trees are a lot like peach trees - they don't like cold,
either - and they get sick from the same diseases, grow the
same amount of fruit which are just of full of vitamins and
energy, just like fuzzy peaches. Honestly, I can't imagine
what isn't inside a peach or nectarine: they've got iron,
and silicon, and phosphor, and plenty of sugar for energy."
"I think that nectarines are like peaches that are all
dressed up," the little girl said. "Peaches are like a
patch of sun on a dull day, and nectarines are like bright
sunshine."
"You're very observant. Also, nectarine skin doesn't tear
so easily as peach skin, so they're much easier to collect
and store and move from place to place." the gardener
commented with a smile.
"Tell me, please, does the peach fairy have her own house
in the orchard, and where has she gone off to? Why did she
disappear as soon as I got here?"
"Our peach fairy lives in every peach pit, in every peach
tree and every single peach. Sometimes she sleeps in one of
her little houses, sometimes she's busy flying about with
her magic twig helping people to grow those marvellous
peach trees," the gardener answered. "Of course, she only
goes to those who want to make their trees happy."
Before long the friendly fairy herself came for the girl
and tapped her again with the magic twig, and ... she woke
up.
"Good morning, darling," she heard her mother say in a
voice she knew so well. "How did you sleep?"
"Mummy, the good peach fairy came to see me, and then she
took me to visit her orchard. Just imagine! It was so
beautiful! Now I know everything about peaches, and my
peach tree is sure to be wonderful, because she tapped the
pot with her magic twig."
Smiling, the little girl cast a fond glance at the pot,
where the fairy was asleep inside the cozy pit. And her
mother smiled too.
***
Healthy Recipes included in the story:
Fruit soup
- 2 peaches
- 2 apples 1 pear
- 100g cherries
- 2 tbsp soured cream
Remove the peel and seeds from the peaches, apples and
pear, chop the fruits into small chunks and place in a
bowl. Remove the stones from the cherries. Grind together
the cherries and fruit skins. Place the cherries and skins
in a pan of boiling water, and simmer for two hours. Pour
the fruit-infused water over the bowl of fruit chunks and
add the soured cream.
Cheese soufflé with peaches
- 500 g of cottage cheese
- 850 ml. of peach compote
- 1 cup of soured cream
- ½ a cup of caster sugar
Mix the cottage cheese with half a cup of the peach
compote, and mix together thoroughly. Mix the soured cream
with the caster sugar and add to the cottage cheese
mixture. Add the rest of the peach compote and decorate
with slices of peach.
----------------------------------------------------
Lilia and Alexandra are educators who love to share useful
TIPS and useful stories on innovative approach to healthy
food. Discover new ideas on how to make your child friends
with fruits and vegetables. Read and download free fruit
and vegs stories at=>
http://www.kindbook.com
Get your healthy food recipes for kids at =>
http://www.kidshealthyrecipes.info
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